TEL AVIV, March 29 (Reuters) - Trans World Airlines Inc.(OTC BB:TWAIQ.OB - news) abruptly suspended its 54-year-old New York-Tel Aviv route as of Thursday, surprising passengers and TWA workers in Israel, who have been battling the carrier in court.

The route had been expected to end at some point after AMR Corp.'s (NYSE:AMR - news) acquisition of the long-troubled TWA was completed. AMR unveiled plans to buy the bankrupt TWA in January. AMR's American Airlines unit had said it would not continue the daily nonstop service between the United States and Israel for economic reasons.

``Passengers came for (Thursday morning's) flight and we were there to meet them, but we weren't told what to do with them,'' said Stan Tannen, a member of the TWA Workers' Committee in Tel Aviv and a 28-year veteran with the company.

``We didn't know there was not going to be a flight until the flight (from New York) didn't come in,'' he said.

TWA spokeswoman Julia Bishop-Cross said it decided on the action after the workers' group took TWA to court seeking a liquidation of TWA's Israeli assets. The court ruled in favor of the employees on Wednesday.

``We had no choice but to protect the assets, including the aircraft. The aircraft was at risk of seizure if it landed in Tel Aviv,'' she said. ``We took the only action we could. We have indefinitely decided to suspend the service.''

Bishop-Cross said TWA tried to negotiate with the employees but the court case negated such a course.

``Once the issue was taken to court, we could not negotiate any longer,'' she said.

Tannen said the workers' group promised the judge it would not seize any aircraft .

Tannen also said TWA offered severance pay of $3,000 for each of TWA's 100 workers in Israel, which he called a breach of its contract.

All workers in Israel are required to receive one month's salary for every year worked. Most local TWA employees have more than 25 years of service.

Sounds like more trouble for AMR. I think AMR should settle this soundly as they have the money. Now that TWA and Tower Air are gone I think Continental is the only carrier serving NYC-Tel Aviv, right?

As to the issue at hand, I am shocked, shocked I say, to hear that TWA refuses to send an aircraft to be seized pursuant to a local court order. Give me a break. This is the natural consequence of the course of events voluntarily set upon by the employees. Now, after suing their own company, they are out of a job. Again, I am shocked.

We've already discussed this (at great length) on another topic, but I totally agree with TWA's decision here. Why send a 767-300 over to Isreal to be seized and strand your crew? I agree with WN boy here, the employees brought this action on. The severance pay issue *WOULD* have been solved on its own in due time, the employees did not need to take this to court.

It's amazing that TWA flew to Tel Aviv before the foundation of the state of Israel. Real historic stuff, ironically the closest analogy today would be for Continental to start flying from New York to Gaza City.

I don't believe TWA is refuting the severence pay based on the contract. The fact of the mater is that the contract is one of the one's that AA had the right to decline the acceptance of based on the terms of the bankruptcy. I'm sure that the large severence payment is one of the reasons for AA saying that they won't serve the market once they take control of TWA. However, since the workers in TLV have escalated things and TWA does not want to risk losing a multi-million dollar asset, TWA has simply "suspended" service. Seems absolutely logical to me.....

As to the comment that AA should pay the 13 million because it is "peanuts" to them. Why should AA have to payout anything? AA is declining the contract (and has the right to do so) and still has not taken control of TWA.

No, currently CO is now the only US carrier serving Israel. DL will not begin service for another few months. CO needs to bring back their second Israel flight. One of my workout partners is a CO 77 copilot, he says the flight is always full. Is anyone at CO paying attention??

When Delta begins the flight it is reported that the equipment that will be used will be the MD-11 . Anyway it is noticable that none of you have gome through what these employees are going through . They have a right to take this to court . Im a really big fab of TWA but these people have worked all there lifes with this airline they need ay least some type of compensation. Chepos
Puerto Rico

The reason behind the lack of 2 daily EWR-TLV flights... not enough 777s. Part of the reason behind pulling that flight was to free up a 3rd 777 to fly EWR-HKG. Continental is supposed to be getting another 2 777s, they converted 2 of their 767-400 orders to pull that off. If they had the planes I am pretty sure they would fly it. Perhaps a 2nd daily flight could be flown by a 767-200, which has the range, but they don't have very many of those either.

Stop drop and roll will not save you in hell. --- seen on a church marque in rural Virginia

Like Chepos, I'm a huge TW fan, but I find it very slimy to lowball the TW employees at TLV. They signed a contract that ensures them a month of salary for each year worked, they never thought TW was going to declared bankruptcy, nor did they need to worry about. Their job was to get planes in and out on time and apparently they did so fpr pver 50 years now. Now, as TW fires them, it has an obligation to compensate them for their years of work.

TW Israel employees didn't escalate/bring this on, they saw they were going to get shafted and sued Trans World. They won in court. Period. I don't care if TW flies the route or not (well I do, but thats not for this thread), but I do care that TW takes care of its employees in a noble and responsible way.

AA is not buying TWA, when TWA is liquidated just certain assets they think can be profitable will be transfered to a new company, which will then merge into AA in time. Tel Aviv is not one of them.

I was surprised to hear the staff were offered anything at all. As TWA is being liquidated.

I have to say though, TWA has been injected with capital from AA in the mean time, I wouldn't have thought it'd hurt to pay them properly, the numbers aren't big enough to make any real difference surely? TWA is dead, what's left might as well go to people who need it, not just bankers. These staffers could loose everything.

Part of the agreement that AA made is Job Security. Now they want to get the merger going as fast as they can, so there is very little time for appeals(Senators w/Moratoriums[sp?], etc.) If you don't believe me, then check out the TW Infoline for Thurs, 3-28-2001. The number is 1-800-TWA-1976.

Had TWA just died and shut down, i think that the TLV employees would have handled it better...but this city closing and route chopping will go on all thru what TWA once had as a route map.....so all you TWA people that think your job is secure,,get your butts ready to go and file for unemployement and or dust off your resumes cause its back to being a newbie or to the bottum of the totem pole at AA....if they even keep you at all.....
I hope the TLV employees get what theyre asking for......after all, AA is fronting 900Million arent they or was thast just a grand bluff jet to TWA and theoretically bump everyone out of the way.......
Its sick!!!!